The Jet Cage
The Jet Cage is a 1962 Looney Tunes short directed by Friz Freleng. Plot Tweety sits in his house, a bird cage, looking at the birds through the window. Tweety yearns dearly to fly freely like other birds, but Granny will not allow him to do so. This is considering his safety, as Sylvester is always lurking around waiting for a chance to catch and eat Tweety. Granny reads a newspaper advertisement by Jet Age Technology for a $12.95 Flying Bird-Cage, which would allow birds fly safely. Granny, who understands Tweety's longing for freedom, buys the cage and presents it to Tweety. This enables Tweety to fly around outdoors without leaving the security of his cage. Sylvester is at first taken aback at the sight of Tweety flying safely, piloting the jet-powered cage like an airplane. Two crows also watch in awe ("And all this time, I've been doing it the hard way," one crow remarks). Sylvester resolves to ground Tweety's cage and get his round-headed meal; his eyes rolling around to follow his every move. Each of the following attempts are in vain: * An attempt to snare the cage with a butterfly net. The jet-powered cage is strong enough to drag the butterfly net, along with the cat hanging to it — until he crashes into a light pole. * After Tweety comes in for flying instructions ("I forgot what to do in case of fog!"), Sylvester sneaks inside the cage. Once the cage is back in the air, Tweety activates the hatch, which sends Sylvester, all set to strike, down into a brook. * Use of a rocket bomb to intercept the flying object of interest. The bomb simply flies back at the cat. * A horseshoe-shaped magnet tied to a fishing rod. While the cage momentarily struggles against the magnet's pull (and the puddy tat tries to reel in his meal), Tweety manages to get the cage to break free. Sylvester is dragged into downtown traffic and ultimately an oncoming bus. * Sylvester using large flaps to fly beside Tweety. Sylvester gloats, mocking the bird for thinking he outsmarted him, but Tweety points out that Sylvester has his hands full. The cat tosses the flaps aside and shoots back, "Oh, yeah? Well now I haven't!" ... just before he realizes he's in for another big fall! (Meanwhile, the flaps flutter downward.) Sylvester — limping on crutches and wrapped in bandages — decides to joins the U.S. Air Force, vowing to earn his wings and resentfully threatening to get Tweety once and for all. Censorship * The ABC version of this cartoon cuts the sequence where Sylvester builds a Nike rocket to capture Tweety (which predictably backfires).http://www.intanibase.com/gac/looneytunes/censored-i-j.aspx Availability * (1998) VHS - Looney Tunes Presents:Tweety: Home Tweet Home ''(1997 dubbed version) * (2001) DVD - ''I Love Tweety: Volume 1 (restored) * (2009) DVD - Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1960s Volume 2 (The Road Runner Show episode, 16mm TV print) * (2017) Streaming - Boomerang App Notes * French dub is low-pitchedhttp://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5amhjl_titi-et-grosminet-titi-a-reaction-1962_fun. * Milt Franklyn died of a heart attack while composing the cartoon's score. William Lava finished the score, starting with the scene when Sylvester tries to catch Tweety with a net. He is not credited in this cartoon, but the difference in music is obvious. * When Sylvester rolls his eyes, after a blackout, the music composition changes from Franklyn to Lava. * Sylvester does not have a speaking role until the scene with the flaps. * Sylvester doesn't have the white tip on his tail in this cartoon, much like some of his appearances in the 1940s shorts and the 1960s Friz Freleng shorts, and the most of the pre-1955 Robert McKimson shorts. Gallery The Jet Cage.png|Title Card (Version #1) Jet cage.jpg|Title Card (Version #2) Flyingbirdcage777878p.jpg TV Title Cards lt the jet cage tbbrrs fs.jpg|''The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show (Final Season)'' 212.jpg lt tbbats the jet cage.jpg|''The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show'' References External Links * Dave Mackey's Page for 1962 Looney Tunes Cartoons Category:Cartoons directed by Friz Freleng Category:1962 Category:Sylvester Cartoons Category:Tweety Cartoons Category:Shorts Category:Looney Tunes Shorts Category:Granny Cartoons Category:Cartoons written by Friz Freleng Category:Cartoons animated by Bob Matz Category:Cartoons animated by Lee Halpern Category:Cartoons animated by Art Leonardi Category:Cartoons with layouts by Hawley Pratt Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Tom O'Loughlin Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by June Foray Category:Cartoons with music by Milt Franklyn Category:Cartoons produced by David H. DePatie